Ukraine Elders Address Sunday Adeladja
During the meeting the of Evangelical Churches and bishops of Churches of the Ukraine expressed their concern and claims regarding the actions and statements made by pastor Sunday Adeladja in the following sequence:
1. Public exaggeration of Adeladja’s own merits and results of activities (e.g. exaggeration of the number of parishioners of “God’s Embassy” as well as often openly spoken untruth, e.g. regarding his role and involvement in the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine);
2. Non-evangelical doctrine of financial prosperity as well as spiritual support of financial structures (e.g. “King`s Capital”, etc.) which resulted in impoverishment of many people left without housing and means of living;
3. Personal and individual management of the religious congregation, creating an image of personal infallibility which resulted in forming of Sunday Adeladja’s “personality cult”;
4. Appropriation of funds belonging to the religious congregation having been collected as offerings for the construction of a religious compound;
5. Involving of the “God’s Embassy” congregation into political processes which entailed building adversity by politicians towards churches and, consequently, multiple assaults against evangelical churches in mass media as well as disgrace in society;
6. Making statements and cultivating an opinion that “God’s Embassy” is supreme among all churches and Sunday Adeladja is supreme among all pastors resulting in haughtiness and disdain shown toward all other churches;
7. Making statements on behalf of all evangelical and protestant churches of the Ukraine without being endowed such authority.
In the process of the meeting, the bishops of the Ukrainian evangelical churches did not accuse “God’s Embassy” congregation or its members, did not disparage their social and evangelistic work, sincerety and diligence. However, the elders and bishops of churches were concerned that the elders of “God’s Embassy” failed to discern and make express timely reaction to Sunday Adeladja’s messages contradicting sound evangelical doctrine.
The meeting and conversing of the elders and bishops of the Ukrainian churches with pastor Sunday Adeladja was held based on the Bible (Ezek. 34:1-11; Math. 6:24; Math. 18:7; I Pet. 5:1-3; I Tim. 5:20; I Tim. 6:5-11).
After the meeting Sunday Adeladja thanked all those present for the meeting, acknowledged many mistakes, asked the ministers for forgiveness and promised to repent publicly for the mistakes acknowledged as well as defer to evangelical standpoint expressed at the meeting by the leadership of the Ukrainian evangelical churches. From their end, the elders and bishops expect Sunday Adeladja to make corrections promised for their final conclusions to follow and be made.
The leaders of the Ukrainian evangelical churches and groups of churches called all Christians to pray for the deceived, suffering and devoid of faith and expressed a hope for positive resolution of this situation.
The following ministers participated in the meeting:
M.S. Panochko, Senior Bishop of the All-Ukrainian Union of Pentecostal Churches of Evangelical Faith
L.N.Padun, Senior Bishop of the Ukrainian Christian Evangelical Church
A.V. Glukhovsky, Assistant Senior Bishop of the Union of Free Churches of Evangelical Faith in the Ukraine
F.M. Savochka, Bishop of the Church of God of Christians of Evangelical Faith in the Ukraine
V.N. Reshetinsky, Bishop of “Ukrainian Missionary Church”, Association of Churches of Evangelical Faith ChristiansÂ
A.P. Gavrilyuk, President of the Association of Independent Charismatic Christian (Full Gospel) Churches in the Ukraine
A.I. Kalyuahniy, Bishop of the Council of Independent Evangelical Churches in the Ukraine
B.S. Grisenko, Senior Pastor of Kiev Messianic Congregation
P.I. Kovalenko, Senior Pastor of Kharkov Christian Church
S.V. Balyuk, Bishop of the Evangelical Christian Church of the Living God
